The Bet
by Guinivere Sage
Summary: Sam gets into a bit of a predicament over a bet. Watch the drama, the fluff, and the humor unfold. Oneshot DS.


**A/N- Okay, I couldn't resist it. I got this idea the other day and just had to write it ASAP. It's real fluffy and fun, so enjoy. I'm taking a break from some of my other stories because I got this great inspiration after reading another fic (don't worry, I'm not stealing anything). Anyway, look out for the first chapter of "Oh, It's On" later this week, possibly even today or tomorrow.**

Would you stop rubbing it in that I don't own this amazing show? Jeez! cries

* * *

"Not happening."

"Oh, come on, Sam!"

"No, Danny, I won't do it."

"You have to," reminded Tucker, staring into the screen of his PDA. "You lost the bet."

"I wasn't serious! I didn't actually think you guys would make me do this."

Danny sighed. "We're sorry, but you should know us by now. We take bets seriously." Seventeen-year-old Danny Fenton leaned his head on the changing room door, and the thunk on the other side told him Sam had done the same. "Please come out? If it's that bad, I won't make you go to the party."

"But I will…" muttered Tucker quietly, finally looking up. The three were at the mall, in the bathing suit section of some generic department store. Earlier that week, everyone had been invited to a pool party the town was throwing at the local swimming pool. Sam had bet her two best friends that Lancer wouldn't get a date for the party. At the time it had seemed a sure thing, but lo and behold, Lancer got a date with one of the female teachers. Price: Sam had to wear a colored bikini to the party, and stay the whole time.

"There's no way. I've barely worn anything but black since the fourth grade! This is just… You'll laugh."

"I promise I won't…" After hearing Tucker chuckle, Danny frowned. "Tucker won't laugh either," he amended, and Tucker made a face at him. Danny stuck his tongue out. "Please Sam, just let us see. We're your best friends."

He stepped back hopefully, and a groan sounded from inside the changing room. Then, the door swung open, and…

…Uh…

Danny let out a whoosh of air as he stared at Sam. He rarely saw her in a bathing suit (goths tend to avoid the sun) and never in a two-piece. Her legs were long—unbelievably long—and graceful… like, can't-stop-gazing-at-them graceful. His stare traveled up over her slightly-curvaceous hips. Sam had always been slender. Up, up, up when his eyes over the creamy-pale skin of her stomach, lingering around her navel, then passing higher. Her arms were held nervously, one hand caught around her other elbow. She was trying to hide herself, he supposed, but only succeeded in pressing her breasts together. Trust me, Danny noticed. He also noticed that the suit matched her eyes perfectly—a light, bluish lavender.

Damn.

"That one," Danny said haltingly, finally breaking out of his trance. "You're wearing that one."

Sam blushed at his approval. Then, she sighed. "Do I have to? Really?"

"Absolutely," remarked Tucker, standing up. "You have to, if only so I can see all the jocks' faces when they get a look at you. They're going to be all over you."

"Oh, gross! The jocks? Don't make me barf."

"I could go grab some meat," he teased. Sam made a retching noise.

"Cut it out," Danny said at last. "Look at it this way, Sam. You're going to make Paulina really jealous."

That seemed to brighten her mood considerably.

* * *

"She better show up," Tucker complained, lying on the grass. He was sprawled in the sun, his eyes closed, completely blocking the walk-way and not even caring. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Sam won't back out on this. She knows we'd come after her."

"You're right, and I would, too."

Danny sighed. "I know."

Around them, high-school kids splashed, sunbathed, and swam. In the oversize pool, Dash and Kwan were making trouble for a bunch of sophomores. Wow, Baxter was sinking lower than usual.

It was then that a hush went over the crowd. For a moment suspended in time, everyone was looking to the entrance of the pool area. Danny turned, fairly certain of what he would see. He had tried to prepare himself, but the sight of Sam in that awesome bathing suit did him in. His heart rate picked up, he suddenly felt really hot, and his hand phased through the ground, making him land with a thud.

Sam had stopped dead, caught off guard by everyone staring at her. For a moment, she seemed to try to fold in on herself, her eyes darting wildly, and Danny was about to go and rescue her. But then, something great happened. A change came over her; she stood up straight, her head high, and walked calmly to where Danny and Tucker were waiting. Tuck was taking in the scene around him rather than looking at her, he seemed to want to memorize every expression of every person there. He clearly loved it. Even after Sam sat down between them, it took a few moments for everyone to snap back to reality.

The first guy was there within five minutes.

"Hi…uh…Sam." It was Jake, a short, red-headed football player. Sam smiled at his sweetly. It was a weird look for her, and Danny lifted an eyebrow. She winked discreetly.

"Hi Jake," Sam said, her voice pure bubblegum. That got Tuck's attention. "Did you want something?"

"I was wondering…um…if you wanted to play chicken. We're putting a game together. Be my partner?"

"Oh, that's sweet," she crooned, cocking her head to one side. "I'd love to." She held her hand out daintily, allowing Jake to help her up. As they walked away, the two boys were left in shock.

"What the hell was that?" asked Tucker.

"That," replied Danny "is a pure genius at work."

It didn't take long for the game to get underway. Countless girls sat on boys' shoulders, squealing and laughing as they tried to knock each other off. Sam, Danny noticed, had an almost diabolical look about her. She leaned down and whispered in Jake's ear. He seemed dumbfounded for a moment, and then began to creep around the perimeter of the players. Danny felt a stab of jealousy that startled him. Yeah, he had feelings for Sam. He'd known that for a while. But surely they weren't to the extent of his being jealous of a game of chicken, right?

Right.

No way in hell. Danny wanted to be the one with Sam on his shoulders, being whispered to. He wanted to feel her above him, trusting him completely that he wouldn't let her fall. Okay, so maybe it was the hero in him that wanted that part, but Danny Phantom was, after all, half of his life. He had saved Sam countless times. He had come so close to telling her he loved her countless times.

So why wasn't he the one holding on to her? Because, no matter how much of a hero he was, Danny was still a wuss when it came to girls.

He frowned, trying to catch up with the game. A good number of couples had been knocked down, but Jake and Sam were still up. When Tucker groaned beside him, Danny was startled.

"Here comes trouble," Tuck muttered, pointing behind Sam. Paulina was there, sneaking up on her with a definitely evil look in her eye. Dash was under her, equally malicious. Danny thought fast.

"5 o'clock!" he yelled, and Sam twisted around just in time to stop the attack from her worst enemy. The two raven-haired beauties engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and both wore expressions of pure hatred. Danny sat forward, anxious as to what would be the outcome. Even from where he was, he could hear the grunts of anger and strain. In honest, if he wasn't so worried about Sam, he would probably think it was really hot. But he was getting ahead of himself.

He could see Sam getting sick of the fight. Paulina was slowly growing more tired, while Sam had all the energy in the world. She had spent too much time running around Amity chasing ghosts to poop out easily. When he saw Jake and Sam slowly pushing Dash and Paulina backward, Danny silently cheered. When he saw Paulina fly backward, knocked off Dash's shoulders, he actually jumped onto his feet and yelled. "Woo! Sam, you rock!"

Others took up the cheer. Sam blushed and made a shallow bow, and then was lifted from Jake's shoulders. She laughed at the continued applause then began to make her way back to her friends.

Danny watched and, for the first time, it occurred to him that Sam could be really popular if she wanted to. She had always been the goth, the freak, the one to be ignored. Now, people were beginning to take notice. He got nervous, wondering if he could lose one of his best friends. Before Sam left the pool she slipped under the surface, getting her hair wet. By the time her feet touched land, water was sliding and glistening on her skin. Danny swallowed thickly, wondering if he would also lose the love of his life. She stopped just short of them and smiled. Danny hoped his feelings weren't reflected in his eyes.

"So," she said. "How'd I do?"

"Awesome," Tucker replied. "By the way, how did you manage to get your voice to sound so creepily like Paulina's?"

"Why Tuck, didn't you know?" Her voice had that same lilting tone to it, and Danny lifted his eyebrows. "All girls can do it."

"Are there any other tricks girls can do that we should know about?"

Sam just smiled devilishly. Danny swallowed again.

"Do you guys want something to eat?" she asked, her voice back to normal. "I promise not to make Tucker have anything green."

"Sounds great!"

She walked off, still looking like some watery princess come to take over the world with her beauty. As she passed, almost every guy turned to stare.

Once again, that jealousy kicked in Danny's chest. This was Sam, the Sam who urged him to try out the Fenton Portal, even though his parents said it didn't work. The Sam who gave him her homework all the time because he was too tired from ghost fighting to do it. The Sam who kissed him as a last resort to save him from Valerie. The Sam who kissed Dash—of all people—to break him from Ember's spell. The Sam he had wanted since freshman year, and loved since long before that.

Danny groaned and was about to fall backward when his gaze caught something that wasn't right. He concentrated on the snack bar. Sam was there, but she wasn't holding anything. Kwan had her backed against a wall, his arm braced above her head as he leaned close. He was smiling, but Sam was nervous. Her eyes kept darting from side to side, and she was biting her lip. Danny was on his feet in an instant.

"I never knew it, Sam. You are really hot."

"Um… thanks."

"In fact, I'd say you're even more beautiful than Paulina and Valerie put together. Besides, they're both shallow beyond measure. I look for someone with more substance."

"Substance?" Sam asked, biting her lip. There had to be some way out of this. _Danny, please help me._

"Yeah, substance… Say I was wondering, did you maybe want to find someplace quieter? We could get to know each other better." _Oh, that kind of substance,_ she thought. Then, Kwan's expression darkened. "It would be in your best interest."

That got Sam's attention like nothing else did. _He's threatening me! Oh, I'll kill him, that shallow, pompous, bullying… But wait. I can't possibly take him on by myself. He's huge! He'd win in an instant, and I certainly don't want to get hurt. If only there was something I could—_

Sam's vision was blocked then by something large and solid. She started, surprised to see someone standing between her and Kwan. He reached back and took her hand, squeezing it in reassurance. _It's Danny._ She smiled.

"Hey, Kwan, how are you today?" Danny asked.

"Fine, Fenton, now move. I was having a discussion with Sam, here."

"Really? Because to me it looked like she wasn't really enjoying herself. Do you think, maybe, you should back off?"

Kwan got angry, fast. He clenched a fist. "No, I don't think I should. Why don't _you _back off?"

Danny squeezed Sam's hand again, this time silently asking for her to play along. He reached back and took her other hand, pulling both forward so she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. Taking the hint, Sam went up on tiptoe. She rested her chin on Danny's shoulder and smiled sweetly. "I know for a fact she isn't interested in what you're offering, Kwan. Take it somewhere else," Danny said firmly.

"How about I take you somewhere else?" Kwan asked, shaking his fist in Danny's face. Dan just lifted an eyebrow.

"Do you think that impresses her? Seriously."

They walked away, one of Sam's arms remaining around his waist.

Once they were a good distance away, she laughed and yanked Danny behind the snack building. She threw herself at him in a strong hug, still laughing.

"Danny, that was great! I didn't know you had it in you!"

He smirked. "Your confidence in me is astounding."

"You know what I mean," she chided, her arms still around him. "I see you fight all the time, but for you to just stand up for me like that… It was really sweet." They paused for a moment before realizing they were still hugging. They pulled apart quickly, both blushing. Danny coughed.

"Well, you know, I'm always here for you."

"I know. That's one of the things I love about you."

Her eyes widened as if she just said something she shouldn't have. Danny smiled. "One of the things?" he asked, watching her discomfort. "Listen, Sam, I have something to tell you."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. We've been friends a long time, and… oh man, I hope I don't lose my trunks over this." He chuckled nervously. "Nothing underneath, after all. Anyway, we've been friends a long time, and… I've liked you as long as I can remember. Loved you for about as long. I want you to be…" He struggled to find the word. "Mine," he said at last.

Sam was shocked. "You love me?"

"Yeah, I do. I love you."

"Danny, I don't know what to say… except… I love you, too."

They both grinned, and in the next instant were embracing again. Dan moved his lips to a breath from hers, not sure if he should do what he wanted so badly. She answered for him, pressing her mouth to his. He smiled through the kiss, pressing her closer to him. He had wanted this for years, always scared that she didn't feel the same. Now that he knew she did, he was never going to let her go.

"I AM THE BOX GHOST! I HAVE COME TO RESUME MY RULE OVER ALL THINGS CARDBOARD AND SQUARE!"

Danny reluctantly pulled away from the woman in his arms. "I don't have time for you," he said simply, and knocked the specter away with a single ectoplasm blast. Sam laughed and pulled him around again, crushing him in another kiss. Danny moved forward, forcing her back until she was pressed between the wall and him, their bodies meeting at every opportunity.

Sam didn't really seem to mind. She sighed, thinking, _thank God for bets._


End file.
